Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what effect Roundup Ready genes within crops have upon the uptake of nutrients, disease resistance, physiological efficiency and drought stress.

Lord Henley: Roundup Ready crops have not been grown commercially in the UK, but we are aware of relevant scientific papers in this area.
	Applications to market Roundup Ready crop seeds are subject to the EU legislation on the release of genetically modified (GM) organisms. Under this legislation, assessments to date of proposed Roundup Ready crops have suggested that harmful environmental effects would not arise as a result of their performance on the attributes referred to. Of these attributes, resistance to disease is also assessed as part of the legislative National List process for approving new types of crop seed, whether GM or conventional.

Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last considered safety data on glyphosate; and whether, in the light of increased concentrations of glyphosate used in agriculture, they propose to re-evaluate the safety data.

Lord Henley: The last assessment of the full data package for the active substance glyphosate was carried out as part of the first review under Council Directive 91/414/EEC of active substances used in the European Union. The decision to include glyphosate on Annex I of the Directive (list of approved active substances in the EU) was taken in July 2002.
	Relevant new scientific literature on the potential effects of glyphosate will be considered as part of the second review under Council Directive 91/414/EEC of active substances used in the European Union. We expect a Commission proposal on this review later this year.
	Concentrations of glyphosate in formulated products and dose rates for application have remained broadly similar for many years in the UK.

Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what long-term studies they have commissioned into the nutritional status of cattle, poultry, pigs and sheep fed on genetically modified soya, peas or maize, taking into account their micronutrient status.

Lord Henley: We have not commissioned such research. Under EU legislation, a genetically modified crop will not be approved for feed use unless a robust assessment indicates that it will not be nutritionally disadvantageous for animals.

Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what long-term studies they have commissioned into the effects on the reproductive organs and functions of cattle, poultry, pigs and sheep of being fed genetically modified soya, peas or maize.

Lord Henley: We have not commissioned such research. Under EU legislation, a genetically modified crop will not be approved for feed use unless a robust assessment indicates that it will not have an adverse effect on animal health.

Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have commissioned into the development of glyphosate-tolerant biological remediation of soil organisms adversely affected by glyphosate.

Lord Henley: The Government have not commissioned such research. Studies submitted for the assessment of glyphosate, which were carried out as part of the first review under Council Directive 91/414/EEC of active substances used in the European Union, found no adverse effects on soil micro-organisms, even when glyphosate was applied at rates substantially higher than those authorised for field use.

Asylum Seekers: Legal Advice

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will extend the Solihull pilot of legal advice for asylum seekers to other parts of the United Kingdom.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The UK Border Agency and Legal Services Commission continue to work with key asylum partners and are currently planning an extension to the 2007 Solihull pilot principles of an enhanced legal service for asylum seekers across an entire UKBA region from October 2010.

Aviation: Volcanic Ash

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to compensate the airline industry for loss of business as a result of volcanic ash.

Earl Attlee: The Government recognise the significant financial impact for BAA and other UK airports during the period of the airspace restrictions due to volcanic ash in April. At this stage, the Government have no plans to provide financial assistance to cover any losses incurred by airports. The starting point must be for businesses in any sector to meet their operating risks. Pressure on public finances also makes support difficult. However, the Government will keep the position under review. The meeting of EU Transport Ministers on 24 June will be taking stock of the ongoing impact of the ash cloud and the response at EU level.

Bailiffs

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider amending the law to negate the decision of the Court of Appeal in Sheriff of Bedford and Toseland Building Supplies Limited v Bishop (1993) that goods commonly known as "tools of the trade" are not exempt from seizure by bailiffs if they are occasionally used by a person other than the defaulter.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider exempting from seizure by bailiffs motor vehicles that are necessary for a person in debt, or a member of his or her family, to travel to and from work.

Lord McNally: The Government have no current plans to prevent the seizure of motor vehicles or negate the case of Sheriff of Bedford and Toseland Building Supplies Limited v Bishop (1993). We have, however, given a commitment to provide more protection against aggressive bailiffs.

Bailiffs

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to implement the pledge in The Coalition: Our Programme for Government to "provide more protection against aggressive bailiffs and unreasonable charging orders, ensure that courts have the power to insist that repossession is always a last resort, and ban orders for sale on unsecured debts of less than £25,000."

Lord McNally: The Government have announced that they will introduce legislation to provide for the creation of fewer and more equally sized constituencies. That legislation will include rules for conducting a boundary review. It will be brought forward in due course and Parliament will have the opportunity to debate its provisions in full.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Office of Fair Trading will decide whether to begin an inquiry into investment banking.

Baroness Wilcox: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced on 10 June its plans to undertake a market study into equity underwriting and associated services. It invited interested parties to submit views on the scope of the study by 9 July. Full details are provided in the OFT's press release which may be found on their website.

BBC

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to consider giving the National Audit Office full access to the BBC.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: It is the Government's policy that the National Audit Office should have full access to the BBC's accounts in order to increase the transparency and accountability of the BBC. The Government are discussing with the BBC Trust how full access can be achieved.

Benefits: Non-British Citizens

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps a European Union citizen working in the United Kingdom must take in applying for contribution-based benefits.

Lord Freud: EU nationals take the same steps to claim contribution-based benefits as UK nationals. They have to, for example, make a claim and provide evidence in support of their claim and attend work focused interviews as required. Jobcentre Plus has introduced a range of ways for people to make a claim to benefits. The majority of people use the telephony or on-line channels to make a claim; however, face-to-face interviews and clerical claim forms are also available.
	If an EU migrant worker's UK national insurance record is not sufficient to meet the contribution conditions for benefit, the UK will use their social insurance payments in another EU country to help. This is why we ask benefit claimants about whether they have worked elsewhere in Europe.

Chagos Islands

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they grant citizenship to second-generation descendants of former residents of the Chagos Islands, one of whose parents acquired British citizenship by descent but who are themselves stateless.

Baroness Neville-Jones: There are no automatic routes by which second-generation descendants of former residents of the Chagos Islands who are stateless can acquire British citizenship. They can apply for citizenship through registration or naturalisation if over the age of 18, based on a period of residence in the United Kingdom.
	However, a person born stateless outside of the United Kingdom and overseas territories to a British Overseas Territories citizen may apply for registration as a British Overseas Territories citizen under Schedule 2 of the British Nationality Act 1981 following a period of residence in the UK or an overseas territory immediately before the application.
	After acquiring British Overseas Territories citizenship in this way they may subsequently apply for full British citizenship.

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they will have with the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service about its report into the experiences of children and young people when parents separate or divorce.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Officials from my department will discuss the report's findings and policy recommendations with Cafcass. The Government are conducting a review of the family justice system, and the issues raised in this report will be considered as part of that.

Children: Poverty

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the review of health and safety law and practice by Lord Young of Graffham will cover the work of health and safety advisers.

Lord Freud: The review being undertaken by Lord Young of Graffham will focus on the operation of health and safety laws and the growth of the compensation culture. As part of that review, Lord Young will cover the work of health and safety advisers.

Community Broadband Network

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government to which departments or agencies applications for funding have been made by Community Broadband Network Ltd (CBN Ltd); how much those applications requested; and whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the business cases, business plans and cash flow projections submitted by CBN Ltd to support applications.

Baroness Wilcox: I have no further information to add to that already given to the noble Lord in a recent previous Question published on 10 June (Official Report, col. WA 55).

Compensation: Pleural Plaque

Lord Dixon: To ask Her Majesty's Government why ex-shipyard workers who suffer from pleural plaques caused by the nature of their employment in England cannot receive compensation; and to what extent that takes account of compensation arrangements for ex-workers in other jurisdictions.

Lord McNally: In the light of the medical evidence available on pleural plaques, the Government do not consider it appropriate to overturn the House of Lords 2007 judgment that the condition is not compensatable under the civil law of tort. The Government understand that it could be seen as unfair for compensation to be available in one part of the United Kingdom but not in another. However, the civil legal systems in Scotland and Northern Ireland and that in England and Wales are separate.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Media

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills restricts access to press facilities for individual members of the media; when that has happened; and in respect of whom.

Baroness Wilcox: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' press facilities are open to all journalists. There is no policy of restricting access for individual members of the media and there is no policy outlining circumstances when access would be restricted. As far as the department is aware, no individual member of the media has had access to a department press facility restricted.

Department for Transport: Consultants

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government , further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 10 June (WA 55-6), what was each contract given to the consultants Mouchel under the Design Services Framework- Midlands for; how much each contract was worth; how many applications were received for each contract; and whether they will place copies of Mouchel's application for each contract in the Library of the House.

Earl Attlee: The short descriptions and contract values of the task orders given to the consultants Mouchel under the Design Services Framework-Midlands were as follows:
	
		
			 Task Order Value 
			 2005-06 
			 Al Peterborough to Blyth Grade Separated Junction (GSJ) £312,644 
			 A483 Pant to Llanymynech Bypass-to scheme decision £88,836 
			 Al Peterborough to Blyth GSJ-Blyth Junction £66,486 
			 Al Peterborough to Blyth GSJ-Colsterworth Junction £51,599 
			 Al Peterborough to Blyth GSJ-Carpenters Lodge £60,135 
			 Al Peterborough to Blyth GSJ-Markham Moor Junction £45,885 
			 Al Peterborough to Blyth GSJ-Gonerby Moor Junction £63,461 
			 Al Peterborough to Blyth GSJ-Apleyhead Junction £192,334 
			 2006-07 
			 A30 Bodmin-Indian Queens Improvement Supervisors £1,136,769 
		
	
	The information and documents requested in the third and fourth parts of this question (ie the numbers of applications that were received for each task order and copies of Mouchel's application for each task order) are not held centrally and could not be assembled without incurring disproportionate cost.

Disabled People: Work Capability Assessments

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are increasing funding for the Tribunals Service in light of the number of appeals against the Department for Work and Pensions' decisions following work capability assessments.

Lord McNally: Additional funding totalling £9 million was provided by the Department for Work and Pensions to the Tribunals Service during 2009-10. This funding met the cost of the increased work processed following the introduction of employment and support allowance. While the 2010-11 requirement, which is expected to be in the region of £16 million is yet to be finalised, it is expected that this arrangement will continue during 2010-11.

Elections: Voting System

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated additional cost of holding the referendum on an alternative vote system on a day in 2011 not used for elections to local authorities, the Scottish Parliament or the National Assembly for Wales.

Lord McNally: Many of the cost elements of running a national referendum are similar to those for a general election. It is generally the case that combining elections allows certain costs to be reduced, particularly because polling stations can be shared. Equivalent costs for the referendum are difficult to quantify because of the different nature of the poll and because some areas with elections in May 2011 include wards where no council seats are due for re-election.
	The Government will announce the proposed date for the referendum in due course and cost estimates are currently being developed.

Employment: Work Programme

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements there are to provide transitional support for jobseekers if the existing phase 1 Flexible New Deal Contracts are ended early.

Lord Freud: Once the Government's new work programme is implemented it will supersede many of the national programmes currently on offer and these will be phased out. The support currently provided by programmes such as the Flexible New Deal will be folded into the Work Programme as soon as possible.
	We have written to current Flexible New Deal phase 1 providers to inform them that this support will be replaced by the work programme by the summer of 2011. We believe that the work programme will offer significant new opportunities for contractors from the private and voluntary sectors to deliver truly flexible and personalised support. Customers will continue to be supported by existing arrangements until the work programme is in place.

Employment: Work Programme

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: To ask Her Majesty's Government over what period of time the welfare to work programme will be implemented.

Lord Freud: We are determined to move quickly to implement the work programme and are aiming to have it in place nationally by the summer of 2011.

European Space Agency

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the European Space Agency about when it will introduce a new financial and invoicing system following discontinuing its previous system on 31 December 2009.

Baroness Wilcox: The European Space Agency (ESA) introduced the new financial system in February 2010. The UK Space Agency is represented on the ESA committee that has overseen the development, and will continue to oversee the ongoing monitoring of the new system.
	Since the system went live at the end of February, a large number of defects and requests for change have emerged and ESA is addressing these in a structured manner, so that nominal operations can be achieved as soon as possible.
	As members of ESA, the United Kingdom supported the process of developing the new system, which is intended to improve efficiency and put in place a system of transparent governance. This included participation in the financial reform working group from its inception in June 2007 to the implementation of the new system in 2010.

Former Ministers: Earnings

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many requests have been made by former Ministers since 11 May for advice in connection with taking full- or part-time appointments with employers outside government; and in what percentage of those requests advice was given within the 15 working days target set by the office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Ministerial Code makes clear that former Ministers seek advice direct from the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments about any appointments or employment they wish to take up within two years of leaving office. The committee provides advice to former Ministers in confidence, and information is published on the committee's website and in its annual report only once an appointment or employment has been taken up or announced. The advisory committee will publish information about its performance in handling requests for advice in its annual report.

Government Spending

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they define "front line services" in relation to spending cuts; and how such services will be determined.

Lord Sassoon: It is for Secretaries of State to ensure they make savings without affecting the quality of key front line services, The definition of "front line services" can only be determined in relation to the particular services provided by individual departments.

Government: Big Society

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what they mean by the phrase "the Big Society", as used in The Coalition: Our Programme for Government.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The big society is a society with much higher levels of personal, professional, civic and corporate responsibility; a society where people come together to solve problems and improve life for themselves and their communities; a society where the leading force for progress is social responsibility, not state control.
	In the coalition agreement document the Government have set out this agenda. Under the banner of social action there are a raft of proposals that will be pursued in implementing the big society, such as: establishing a national day to celebrate social action; introducing national citizen service for 16 year-olds, establishing a big society bank from dormant account funds to provide new finance for charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations; encouraging volunteering and charitable giving; and training community organisers to help people set up neighbourhood groups.

Immigration: Deportation

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Abid Naseer and Ahmad Faraz, who recently successfully appealed against deportation to Pakistan, have leave to enter the United Kingdom or have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom; and, if so, on what grounds.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Special Immigration Appeals Commission upheld the appeals of Abid Naseer and Faraz Khan against the Secretary of State's decision to deport them to Pakistan. It held, in general terms, that these individuals could not be deported to Pakistan in the absence of assurances as to their safety on return.
	Departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, continue to pursue the circumstances in which it would be possible to return these men to Pakistan.
	It is a matter of long-standing policy that the Home Office does not comment on a person's immigration status.

Immigration: Detention

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government , further to the answers by Baroness Neville-Jones on 2 June (Official Report, cols. 252-3), how many persons seeking admission to the United Kingdom and residing in holding centres are not free to leave the United Kingdom.

Baroness Neville-Jones: All individuals held in immigration removal centres and port holding rooms are free to leave the United Kingdom at any time. Arrangements for their return will be made by the UK Border Agency, or alternatively the International Organization for Migration if the individual undertakes an assisted voluntary return.
	The practicalities of arranging international travel necessarily mean that return may not be immediate. For example, where the individual does not possess a valid travel document the speed of return would be greatly influenced by their compliance with the re- documentation process, and in some cases it is necessary to arrange escorts for medical or public protection reasons.

Immigration: Detention

Lord Dubs: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many families have been accommodated in the Glasgow and Ashford pilot asylum centres; and, of those, how many were removed from the United Kingdom.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of the Glasgow and Ashford pilot asylum centres.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation has been carried out of the Ashford and Glasgow pilot asylum centres.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The pilot in Ashford, Kent was run for 12 months from November 2007 to October 2008 and was aimed at refused asylum seekers with children. The pilot explored alternative ways to return families to their country of origin without the need for detention or enforced removal. Using the lessons learned from this a new pilot was started in Glasgow in June 2009. It encourages refused asylum seeker families to return voluntarily by providing intensive support focused on helping families to make sense of their stay in Scotland, confronting issues delaying a return and building up skills to prepare for a voluntary return.
	To date 32 families have been referred to the Glasgow pilot leading to 11 being accommodated. No families have elected to return voluntarily to their home countries and enforced departure has taken place for three families initially accepted into the project, but not engaging with it. During the period when the Ashford pilot was operating and reviewed, a total of 12 families were accommodated with one being removed.
	Glasgow pilot in 2009. The first financial year for the project was 2009-10 and the annual running costs were met through the existing dispersal contract that UK Border Agency has with Glasgow City Council. The project is due to run until 2012 and no funding other than that has been allocated for the next three financial years.
	The 12 month pilot in Ashford, Kent cost just over £1 million. The pilot explored alternative ways of returning families to their country of origin without the need for detention or enforced removal.
	The Glasgow pilot is continually monitored to assess how effective it is and whether any changes or improvements could or should be made. It is currently being independently evaluated by Organisational Development Consulting and Support (ODS) and Barnardo's, which are specifically evaluating the impact of the project on children. The pilot in Ashford was formally evaluated and the lessons learned were used to inform the pilot in Glasgow.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will continue or discontinue plans for additional immigration detention centres.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The UK Border Agency has secured planning permission for new centres at Bullingdon (Oxfordshire) and Bedford. The agency will also seek planning agreement to expand its existing centre at Lindholme, near Doncaster and to build a residential short-term holding facility in Northern Ireland. The agency will be better placed to take decisions on whether or not it will pursue any of these options after the Government's spending review has been completed.
	The agency is also in discussions with the Prison Service concerning the feasibility to re-designate HMP Morton Hall as an immigration removal centre.

Licensing Act 2003

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will amend the Licensing Act 2003 to give local authorities and the police greater powers to remove licences from, or refuse to grant licences to, premises that are causing problems.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will permit local authorities to charge more for late-night licences to serve alcohol to pay for additional policing.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: These proposals are part of the coalition agreement. The Government are currently considering how to take them forward.

Parliamentary Constituencies

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of drawing constituency boundaries on the basis of the estimated numbers of qualifying electors, rather than the number of registered voters.

Lord McNally: The Government have announced that they will introduce legislation to provide for the creation of fewer and more equally sized constituencies. That legislation will include rules for conducting a boundary review. It will be brought forward in due course and Parliament will have the opportunity to debate its provisions in full.

Pensions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what would be the annual saving if the Civil Service Pension Scheme made 61 its age of retirement rather than 60.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: All new entrants to the Civil Service since 30 July 2007 have a pension age of 65. Staff employed before that date generally have a pension age of 60, although many people do not retire then. Information on the saving if any scheme with a pension age of 60 was raised to 61 is only available at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of staff in each of the sections of the Civil Service Pension Scheme is included in the Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts. The accounts for 2009-10 will be published in the near future.

Roads: Fatal Accidents

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many fatal and serious road traffic accidents involved police vehicles in 2009.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Figures available centrally show the numbers of casualties and degree of injury in road traffic collisions involving police vehicles in emergency/pursuit.
	Figures for 2008-09 have been provided for 37 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. They show that there were (a) 26 fatal injuries and (b) 83 serious injuries.
	The data provided here are a supplementary series collected on behalf and released with the approval of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). These data are normally used for inspection purposes only.

Schools: Academies

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether academies are public authorities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Academies are not currently public authorities under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (2000). However the Government intend to extend the scope of the FOI Act to provide greater transparency. The Ministry of Justice is currently considering how best to give effect to this aim.

Visas

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many student visas were issued in each of the past two years; and how many were issued in each of the past eight quarters to students from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The total number of student visas issued in each of the past two financial years was as follows:
	2008-09-236,438; and
	2009-10-288,010.
	The above information is based on the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summaries, which have been published on the UK Border Agency website www.ukba.homeoffice.gov The number of student visas issued to nationals of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan in each of the past eight quarters is shown in the table attached.
	
		
			 Student Visas Issued-2008-09 and 2009-10 
			  Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan 
			 2008-09 
			 Q1 758 2633 88 1509 
			 Q2 1492 17661 281 4705 
			 Q3 762 4905 145 1259 
			 Q4 1200 7805 210 1490 
			 2009-10 
			 Q1 979 3884 288 1548 
			 Q2 8204 31391 6366 4929 
			 Q3 7788 21190 5525 5796 
			 Q4 5251 10578 1046 5441 
		
	
	The data in this table are based on management information and as such have not been quality-assured. They are provisional and subject to change.